Pyrolysis and gasification systems, methods, and resultants derived therefrom

Abstract

A process and system for the controlled thermal conversion of a carbonaceous feedstock, including: exposing the feedstock to one or more predetermined temperatures and one or more predetermined pressures for one or more predetermined amounts of time in one or more chambers to produce a gas product and a solid product, wherein the gas product includes one or more of methane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and one or more noxious chemicals and the solid product includes Carbon; sequestration enabling at least a portion of the Carbon by creating associated Lewis Acid Sites; sequestering at least one of the one or more noxious chemicals in the one or more chambers using the sequestration enabled Carbon; and controlling the constituents of the gas product using feedback, thereby providing a predictable and stable gas product from an unknown and/or variable feedstock.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A process for the controlled thermal conversion of a carbonaceous feedstock, comprising:
 feeding the feedstock into a retort surrounded by one or more heating chambers at a first feed rate using a first auger and transporting the feedstock through the retort at a second feed rate using a second auger disposed at least partially within the retort, wherein the first auger is coaxially aligned with but decoupled from the second auger, and wherein the first feed rate and the second feed rate are independent of one another; 
 exposing the feedstock to one or more predetermined temperatures for one or more predetermined amounts of time in the retort to produce a gas product and a solid product, wherein the gas product comprises one or more of methane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and one or more noxious chemicals and the solid product comprises Carbon; 
 sequestering at least one of the one or more noxious chemicals in the retort by subsequently exposing the one or more noxious chemicals to the Carbon; and 
 varying one or more of the one or more predetermined temperatures and the one or more predetermined amounts of time in the exposing step to control the constituents of the gas product using feedback related to the contents of the gas product, thereby providing a predictable and stable gas product from an unknown and/or variable feedstock; 
 wherein each of the one or more heating chambers comprises an axially adjustable chamber separation wall. 
 
     
     
       2. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising sequestering other of the one or more noxious chemicals external to the one or more heating chambers using the Carbon at other predetermined temperatures. 
     
     
       3. The process of  claim 1 , wherein the thermal conversion is performed in the presence of a catalyst in the retort. 
     
     
       4. The process of  claim 3 , wherein a metallic material from which one or more components of the retort are manufactured comprises the catalyst. 
     
     
       5. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising injecting viscous organic material into the feedstock prior to feeding the feedstock into and through the retort. 
     
     
       6. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising injecting a sequestration agent into the feedstock prior to feeding the feedstock into and through the retort. 
     
     
       7. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising injecting Hydrogen into the feedstock prior to feeding the feedstock into and through the retort. 
     
     
       8. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising injecting steam into the feedstock prior to feeding the feedstock into and through the retort. 
     
     
       9. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising injecting Oxygen into the feedstock prior to feeding the feedstock into and through the retort. 
     
     
       10. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising injecting a non-wetting agent into the feedstock prior to feeding the feedstock into and through the retort. 
     
     
       11. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising varying one or more of the one or more predetermined temperatures and the one or more predetermined amounts of time in the exposing step to control the constituents of the solid product using feedback related to the contents of the solid product, thereby providing a predictable and stable solid product from an unknown and/or variable feedstock. 
     
     
       12. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising removing byproduct tar from the thermal conversion process using a twin screw retort. 
     
     
       13. The process of  claim 12 , further comprising using the byproduct tar as fuel for burners for providing heat to the one or more heating chambers. 
     
     
       14. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising separating byproduct tar and dust from the gas product using a twin screw condenser. 
     
     
       15. The process of  claim 1 , wherein an axial length of each of the one or more heating chambers is adjustable via the axially adjustable chamber separation wall(s). 
     
     
       16. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising communicatively coupling a controller controlling the thermal conversion process to an energy communication network. 
     
     
       17. A Carbon product formed by the process of  claim 1 .